Nigel Pearson was not too disappointed by his side's first defeat in five at Leeds on Tuesday night, putting the 1-0 loss down to the nature of the npower Championship.

England's second tier is known to be a tough one, with several fallen giants - tonight's teams included - jostling to get out of it.

The top 14 sides are separated by 10 points - established big names such Bolton, Leeds and Wolves are just beyond that - and no side has managed to take a hold of the division so far.

The vagaries of the Championship can be summed up by the fact Leeds went seven without a win and were beaten 6-1 by Watford before victories over then-leaders Crystal Palace and third-placed Leicester tonight, with Luciano Becchio scoring a third-minute penalty.

"We lacked quality and did not play well, the first half in particular," Pearson said.

"You'll hear managers in this division talk about consistency and we were quite a way short of what is our best tonight.

"It was never going to be easy to come here, but I have no complaints. The nature of this league is that the sides which achieve consistency tend to finish in a strong position. We have done that for the most part, but not tonight."

Missing leading goalscorer David Nugent, Leicester were without a cutting edge in the final third. Martyn Waghorn cracked a volley against the bar but that was about as good as it got.

"We have acquitted ourselves ever so well this season," said Pearson. "We have had games where we have not played so well, but tonight we put ourselves on the back foot early on."

Leeds have yet to taste defeat since they were taken over by GFH Capital last week, but this was their first midweek success in a year.

They last won a midweek fixture 364 days ago against Nottingham Forest - that game being a poignant one as it was their first since the death of club icon Gary Speed - and Neil Warnock felt it was fitting that they marked the anniversary of his passing tonight.

"Gary would have loved that, us getting stuck in, I thought it was fitting," he said.

"It was a Gary Speed game tonight, roll your sleeves up and not shirking a tackle.

"We beat the top of the league on Saturday, but these (Leicester) are the best squad and you can tell that with the subs they made. But in both games we have deserved it. We played some good stuff, with flair, but also putting bodies on the line when we needed."

Warnock also acknowledged Pearson's point about the state of the division, adding: "Any one of the bottom six could go up. There's not one outstanding team."